St. Catharines council has unanimously approved temporary downtown street closures to encourage more people to visit local businesses.
Pedestrians will be able to freely walk through the streets and restaurants and stores can expand patio spaces to offer increased social distancing from May 21st until October 9th.
Mayor Walter Sendzik explains the closures will be in effect from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturday after store owners said they weren't getting the same benefit restaurants were when the closures were in place all day last year.
"They wanted just a little extra time to have their day customers come in and out, and so it's a balance."
The temporary street closures are expected to cost the city $118,000. "That is a net loss on our bottom line," Sendzik says. "But if we can have businesses that are able to build their customer base back up, it does help the overall economy as more restuarants and retailers see that increased activity."
The closures will be on St. Paul Street from William to Carlisle and from Bond to Court Street.
The downtown association also asked for a reduction to parking on James Street from King to St. Paul to allow businesses to spread out there as well.